Those We Lost In 2019

I paid tribute to some of these people with obituary posts.

In Memoriam:

* Larry Weinberg, January 23, 1926 - January 1, 2019, a founder owner of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, his tenure including their 1977 World Championship, the team retired Number 1 in his honor.

* Jumping Johnny Wilson, Date Unknown, 1927 - January 11, 2019, played for the Negro Leagues' Chicago American Giants and the Harlem Globetrotters in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

* Mel Stottlemyre, November 13, 1941 - January 13, 2019, won 164 games and made 5 All-Star teams as a Yankee pitcher, helping them win the 1964 American League Pennant; served as pitching coach for the Mets, helping them win the 1986 World Series, and for the Yankees, helping them win the 1996, '98, '99 and 2000 World Series along with the 2001 and '03 AL Pennants; honored with a Plaque in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.

* Eli Grba, August 9, 1934 - January 14, 2019, relief pitcher helped the Yankees win the 1960 American League Pennant, was an original 1961 Los Angeles Angel.

* Emiliano Sala, October 31, 1990 - January 21, 2019, Argentine soccer star for French team FC Nantes, killed in a plane crash on the way to sign with Welsh team Cardiff City.

* Gerry Plamondon, January 5, 1924 - January 26, 2019, left wing was the last surviving member of the 1946 Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens.

* Dale Barnstable, March 4, 1925 - January 26, 2019, basketball player won 1948 and '49 National Championships with the University of Kentucky, got caught up in the 1951 college basketball point-shaving scandal, was banned from the NBA for life, later won some golf tournaments.

* Bob Friend, November 24, 1930 - February 3, 2019, pitched for the 1960 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates, but held dubious distinctions, such as leading the National League in ERA in 1955 despite pitching for the last-place Pirates, and finishing his career at 197-230, making him the only pitcher to lose 200 games without winning 200.

* Matti Nykänen , July 17, 1963 - February 4, 2019, Finnish ski jumper, won a Gold Medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, and 3 more at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

* Frank Robinson, August 31, 1935 - February 7, 2019, Hall of Fame right fielder, the only man to win Most Valuable Player awards in both Leagues, with the 1961 National League Champion Cincinnati Reds, and winning the Triple Crown with the 1966 American League and World Champion Baltimore Orioles, won another World Series with the Orioles in 1970; became the 1st black manager in each League, with the 1975 Cleveland Indians and the 1981 San Francisco Giants; President of the American League 2015-19, Number 20 retired by the Reds, the Orioles and the Indians, each team also dedicated a ballpark statue of him.

* Gordon Banks, December 30, 1937 - February 12, 2019, one of the greatest goalkeepers in soccer history, starred for English teams Leicester City and Stoke City, played every minute of every game in England's 1966 World Cup win.

* Don Newcombe, June 14, 1926 - February 19, 2019, pitcher from Elizabeth, New Jersey was one of the last surviving stars of the Negro Leagues, playing for the Newark Eagles; a 4-time All-Star with the Brooklyn Dodgers, won 5 National League Pennants; named 1949 NL Rookie of the Year, helped Dodgers win 1955 World Series by winning 20 games and hitting 7 home runs, won the NL Most Valuable Player award and the 1st-ever Cy Young Award in 1956; oddly, was not included .

* Carl Meinhold, March 29, 1926 - February 23, 2019, last surviving member of the 1948 NBA Champion Baltimore Bullets.

* Eusbeio Pedroza, March 2, 1956 - March 1, 2019, Panamanian boxer, Featherweight Champion of the World from April 15, 1978 to June 8, 1985.

* Ted Lindsay, July 29, 1925 - March 4, 2019, Hockey Hall-of-Famer, won the 1950, '52, '54 and '55 Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings, they retired his Number 7, made 11 All-Star Games, won the Art Ross Trophy as leading scorer in 1950, an early activist in the NHL Players' Association, named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players.

* Dan Jenkins, December 2, 1928 - March 7, 2019, sportswriter was one of the greatest authorities on college football, especially in his native Texas; wrote the novel Semi-Tough, which became one of the most popular football-themed films; also a golf expert, played collegiately at Texas Christian University, and wrote one of the most popular books about the sport, The Dogged Victims of Inexorable Fate; he and his daughter Sally Jenkins both wrote for Sports Illustrated.

* Harry Howell, December 28, 1932 - March 9, 2019, Hall of Fame hockey player, played more games for the New York Rangers than any other player, 1,160, Rangers retired his Number 3; won the 1967 Norris Trophy for best defenseman, won the 1990 Stanley Cup as a scout for the Edmonton Oilers.

* Leroy Stanton, April 10, 1946 - March 13, 2019, right fielder was traded by the Mets, along with Nolan Ryan, to the California Angels for Jim Fregosi after the 1971 season, one of the worst trades in baseball history; also an original 1977 Seattle Mariner.

* Johnny "Lam" Jones, April 4, 1958 - March 15, 2019, track star at the University of Texas, won a Gold Medal with a U.S. relay team at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal; also played football, but drug problems and injuries derailed his career as a receiver with the New York Jets.

* Cal Ramsey, July 13, 1937 - March 25, 2019, perhaps the last great basketball player at New York University (NYU), played just 13 games for the New York Knicks, in the 1959-60 and 1960-61 seasons, broadcast for the Knicks from 1972 to 1982, and worked in their community relations department from 1991 until his death.

* Joe Bellino, March 13, 1938 - March 27, 2019, running back for the Naval Academy, won the 1960 Heisman Trophy, played for the Boston Patriots in the AFL after serving his naval commitment.

* Myer "Whitey" Skoog, November 2, 1926 - April 4, 2019, basketball star at the University of Minnesota, who retired his Number 41, won the 1952, '53 and '54 NBA Championships with the Minneapolis Lakers, coached basketball and golf at Minnesota's Gustavus Adolphus College.

* Scott Sanderson, July 22, 1956 - April 11, 2019, pitcher won 163 games; reached the postseason with the 1981 Montreal Expos, the 1984 and '89 Chicago Cubs and the 1990 Oakland Athletics; was a 1991 All-Star with the Yankees.

* Tommy Smith, April 5, 1945 - April 12, 2019, soccer defender helped Liverpool FC win the Football League in 1966, '73, '76 and '77; the FA Cup in 1965 and '74; and the European Cup in 1977.

* Forrest Gregg, October 18, 1933 - April 12, 2019, Hall of Fame offensive tackle, from 1961 to 1972 won 5 Super Bowls with the Green Bay Packers and a 6th with the Dallas Cowboys, coached the Cincinnati Bengals to their 1st AFC Championship in 1982.

* John MacLeod, October 3, 1937 - April 14, 2019, coached the Phoenix Suns to their 1st NBA Finals in 1976, and the New York Knicks in the 1990-91 season; named Big East Coach of the Year at Notre Dame in 1997.

* Chet Coppock, April 30, 1948 - April 17, 2019, Chicago-based sportscaster.

* Billy McNeill, March 2, 1940 - April 22, 2019, captained Celtic FC of Glasgow to the 1967 European Cup, making them the 1st British team to win it; between playing for Celtic and managing them, won 31 major trophies.

* John Havlicek, April 8, 1940 - April 25, 2019, member of the Ohio State basketball team that won the 1960 National Championship, helped the Boston Celtics win 8 NBA Championships from 1963 to 1976, an All-Star in 13 of his 16 NBA seasons, Most Valuable Player of the 1974 NBA Finals, his Number 5 retired by Ohio State and Number 17 by the Celtics, named to the Basketball Hall of Fame and the NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players.

* Gene Stephens, January 20, 1933 - April 27, 2019, outfielder played in MLB from 1952 to 1964; in a 1953 game with the Boston Red Sox, he collected 3 hits in 1 inning, the 1st player to do that in the modern era.

* Gino Marchetti, January 2, 1926 - April 29, 2019, Hall of Fame defensive end captained the Baltimore Colts to the 1958 and '59 NFL Championships, they retired his Number 89.

* Josef Šural, May 30, 1990 - April 29, 2019, Czech soccer player, killed in a car accident while a player for Turkish team Alanyaspor.

* Leonard "Red" Kelly, July 9, 1927 - May 2, 2019, 1st player to win the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman, in 1954; won the 1950, '52, '54 and '55 Stanley Cups for the Detroit Red Wings; converted to a center by the Toronto Maple Leafs, with whom he won the 1962, '63, '64 and '67 Stanley Cups; both teams retired Number 4 for him; the only player ever to win 8 Stanley Cups without playing for the Montreal Canadiens; 1st head coach of the Los Angeles Kings in 1967, named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players.

* Bart Starr, January 9, 1934 - May 26, 2019, Hall-of-Famer quarterbacked the Green Bay Packers to the 1961, '62, '65, '66 and '67 NFL Championships, named Mos Valuable Player of Super Bowls I and II, Packers retired his Number 15.

* Bill Buckner, December 14, 1949 - May 27, 2019, outfielder helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 1974 National League Pennant, converted to 1st base with the Chicago Cubs, National League batting champion in 1980, a 1981 All-Star, collected 2,715 career hits, helped the Boston Red Sox win the 1986 American League Pennant, but committed the most famous error in baseball history to end Game 6 of the World Series.

* José Antonio Reyes, September 1, 1983 - June 1, 2019, Spanish soccer player was a member of Arsenal's "Invincibles" Premier League Champions of 2003-04, and later starred for both Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, and Portuguese team Benfica, before returning to original team Sevilla; killed in a car crash while playing for Spanish team Extramadura.

* Erzsébet Gulyás-Köteles, November 3, 1924 - June 16, 2019, Hungarian gymnast, won a Gold Medal at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.

* Thalles Lima de Conceição Penha, May 18, 1995 – June 22, 2019, Brazilian soccer player known by just his first name, played for Rio de Janeiro team Vasco da Gama, helping them win league titles in 2015 and '16, killed in a motorcycle crash.

* Tyler Skaggs, July 13, 1991 - July 1, 2019, pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, died of an accidental drug overdose.

* Jim Bouton, March 8, 1939 - July 10, 2019, pitcher helped the Yankees win 3 Pennants including the 1962 World Series; wrote Ball Four, a diary of his 1969 season with the Seattle Pilots and the Houston Astros, which became a revelatory (but not as much as people thought) best-seller; became a sportscaster, leaving to make a comeback with the 1978 Atlanta Braves, co-invented Big League Chew gum.

* Ernie Broglio, August 27, 1935 - July 16, 2019, pitcher won 21 games for the 1960 St. Louis Cardinals, but hurt his arm, and was traded to the Chicago Cubs in 1964 for Lou Brock, one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history.

* Elijah "Pumpsie" Green, October 27, 1933 - July 17, 2019, reserve infielder became the 1st black player for the last "Original 16" team to integrate, the 1959 Boston Red Sox.

* Don Mossi, January 11, 1929 - July 19, 2019, relief pitcher won an American League Pennant as a rookie with the 1954 Cleveland Indians, was an All-Star with the Indians in 1957, and nearly helped the 1961 Detroit Tigers and the 1964 Chicago White Sox defeat the Yankees for the Pennant; but may be best remembered for his big nose and sticky-out ears.

* Egil Danielsen, November 9, 1933 - July 29, 2019, Norwegian javelin thrower, won the Gold Medal at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.

* Max Falkenstien (that's right, "stien," not "stein"), April 9, 1924 - July 29, 2019, broadcast football and basketball for the University of Kansas from 1946 to 2006, including 24 Conference Championships, 11 Final Four berths and their 1952 and 1988 basketball National Championships.

* Mike Troy, October 3, 1940 - August 3, 2019, American swimmer won 2 Gold Medals at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.

* José Luis Brown, November 10, 1956 – August 12, 2019, Argentine soccer player, helped La Plata team Estudiantes win league titles in 1982 and 1983, a member of the 1986 World Cup winners.

* Jim Hardy, April 24, 1923 - August 16, 2019, quarterback for Southern California, Most Valuable Player of the 1945 Rose Bowl, backed up Bobby Layne on the 1952 NFL Champion Detroit Lions, was the last surviving member of that team.

* Al Jackson, December 26, 1935 - August 19, 2019, pitcher was an original 1962 New York Met.

* Truman "Tex" Clevenger, July 9, 1932 - August 24, 2019, pitcher for the last "old" Washington Senators team in 1960, an original Los Angeles Angel in 1961, and a World Champion Yankee in 1961 and '62.

* Wally Westlake, November 8, 1920 - September 5, 2019, reserve outfielder on the 1954 American League Champion Cleveland Indians that won 111 games.

* Tom Phoebus, April 7, 1942 - September 5, 2019, pitcher won the 1966 and 1970 World Series with the Baltimore Orioles, pitched a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox on April 27, 1968.

* Charlie Silvera, October 13, 1924 - September 7, 2019, backup catcher to Yogi Berra, won the World Series with the Yankees in 1949, '50, '51, '52, '53 and '56.

* Fred McLeod, September 1, 1952 - September 9, 2019, broadcast for the Detroit Pistons from 1984 to 2006, seeing them win NBA titles in 1989, '90 and 2004; and the Cleveland Cavaliers since 2006, seeing them win the 2016 NBA title.

* Rudi Gutendorf, August 30, 1926 - September 13, 2019, German soccer player for TuS Koblenz, went on to set records managing 55 different teams, in 32 countries, on 5 continents, including 18 national teams, and the St. Louis Stars of the North American Soccer League in 1968; 1st non-Japanese manager to win their national league, with Yomiuri SC in 1984.

* Alex Grammas, April 3, 1926 - September 13, 2019, reserve infielder in the 1950s, briefly managed the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Milwaukee Brewers, won the World Series on the coaching staff of Sparky Anderson with the 1975 Cincinnati Reds and the 1984 Detroit Tigers.

* Howard "Hopalong" Cassady, March 2, 1934 - September 20, 2019, running back helped Ohio State win the 1954 National Championship, won the 1955 Heisman Trophy, Ohio State retired his Number 40, was a member of the 1957 NFL Champion Detroit Lions.

* Isaac Promise, December 2, 1987 - October 2, 2019, captain of the Nigerian soccer team that won the Silver Medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, played most of his professional career in Turkey, was with Austin Bold FC of the USL when he died of a heart attack at age 31.

* Andy Etchebarren, June 20, 1943 - October 5, 2019, catcher for the 1966 and 1970 World Champion Baltimore Orioles.

* Jacinto "Jackie" Hernández, September 11, 1940 - October 12, 2019, shortstop was an original 1969 San Diego Padre, won the 1971 World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

* Al Bianchi, March 26, 1932 - October 28, 2019, played for the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers, 1st head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics, 1971 ABA Coach of the Year with the Virginia Squires, general manager of the New York Knicks from 1987 to 1991, helping to build their 1994 NBA Eastern Conference Champions.

* Ron Fairly, July 12, 1938 - October 30, 2019, 1st baseman won the 1959, '63 and '65 World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, an original Montreal Expo in 1969, and All-Star as an Expo in 1973; in 1977, he became the 1st man to play for both of MLB's Canadian teams, the Expos and the Toronto Blue Jays, named the Jays' 1st All-Star; later served as a broadcaster for the California Angels, the San Francisco Giants and the Seattle Mariners.

* Edmund "Zeke" Bratkowski, October 20, 1931 - November 11, 2019, Bart Starr's backup quarterback on the 1965, '66 and '67 NFL Champion Green Bay Packers.

* Sigvard Ericsson, July 17, 1930 - November 2, 2019, Swedish speed skater won a Gold and a Silver Medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics at Cortina d'Ampezzo.

* Norbert Eder, November 7, 1955 - November 2, 2019, soccer defender won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 1985, '86 and '87, and helped West Germany reach the Final of the 1986 World Cup.

* Jacque Dupont, June 19, 1928 - November 4, 1929, French cyclist, won a Gold Medal at the 1948 Olympics in London.

* Frank "Pep" Saul, February 16, 1924 - November 7, 2019, won 4 straight NBA Championships, in 1951 with the Rochester Royals, and in 1952, '53 and '54 with the Minneapolis Lakers.

* Antaoly Krutikov, September 21, 1933 - November 8, 2019, Russian defender helped Spartak Moscow win the Soviet Top League in 1962 and the Russian Cup in 1963 and '65; helped the Soviet national team win the 1st-ever European Championship in 1960 and reach the Final in 1964; but achieved infamy in 1976, becoming the 1st manager ever to get Spartak relegated from the Soviet top flight, and remains the only one ever to get them relegated from either the Soviet or the Russian top flight.

* Cyril Robinson, March 4, 1929 - November 9, 2019, the last surviving member of the Blackpool FC team that won the 1953 FA Cup, the Final that included a hat trick by Stan Mortensen and the starring role of Stanley Matthews.

* István Szívós Jr., April 24, 1948 – November 10, 2019, Hungarian water polo player, won medals at 4 straight Olympics, including a Gold in 1976 in Montreal; his father, István, won Gold Medals in 1952 and '56, and his son Márton has won a World Championship, but, as yet, not an Olympic Medal.

* Harrison Dillard, July 8, 1923 - November 15, 2019, won 2 Olympic Gold Medals each in 1948 in London and 1952 in Helsinki, becoming the only man to be the "World's Fastest Man" (Gold in the 100 meters in 1948) and the "World's Greatest Hurdler" (Gold in the 110-meter hurdles in 1952).

* Irv Noren, November 29, 1924 - November 15, 2019, reserve outfielder was the last surviving player from the 1952 World Champion New York Yankees (Whitey Ford and Bobby Brown are still alive, but both were serving in the Korean War at the time); also won the 1953 and '56 World Series with the Yankees, an All-Star in 1954, served on Dick Williams' coaching staff and won the 1972 and '73 World Series with the Oakland Athletics.

* Jim Coates, August 4, 1932 - November 15, 2019, All-Star relief pitcher for the Yankees in 1960, helped them win the 1961 and '62 World Series.

* Pat Sullivan, January 18, 1950 - December 1, 2019, quarterback won the 1971 Heisman Trophy with Auburn, played in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons and the Washington Redskins, later served as head coach at Texas Christian University (TCU).

* Bob Willis, May 30, 1949 - December 4, 2019, cricket fast bowler currently stands as England 4th all-time wicket taker.

* Jorge Hernández, November 17, 1954 – December 12, 2019, Cuban boxer, won the Gold Medal in the Light Flyweight division at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

* Karin Balzer, June 5, 1938 - December 17, 2019, hurdler won a Gold Medal for East Germany at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo; despite competing for East Germany in the 1960s and '70s, and later working as a chemist, she has never been credibly accused of cheating.

* Roland Matthes, November 17, 1950 - December 20, 2019, swimmer won 8 Olympic Medals, including 2 Golds each in 1968 in Mexico City and in 1972 in Munich; had a 7-year winning streak in backstroke competitions from 1967 to 1974; despite being East German, he always denied having used doping or any other form of cheating.

* Martin Peters, November 8, 1943 - December 21, 2019, English soccer star for West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, won the 1966 World Cup.

Billy McNeill, 1940-2019

One of the giants of British soccer has come to the end of a long battle, and a well-earned rest.

William McNeill (no middle name) was born on March 2, 1940, in Bellshill, about 10 miles east of Glasgow, Scotland. This little town of 20,000 people, has produced many soccer legends, including Hughie Gallacher, Matt Busby, Brian McClair and Ally McCoist; and also boxing champion Scott Harrison and singer Sheena Easton.

Billy McNeill was signed by Glasgow soccer team Celtic in 1957, from a nearby junior team, Blantyre Victoria. The team was not very good at the time, until the arrival of a new manager, a centre-half who had helped the team win "The Double," both the league title and the Scottish Cup, in 1954: John "Jock" Stein. (That's pronounced "steen," like it was Scandinavian, not "stine," like it was Jewish.)

The Scottish top flight has long been dominated by 2 teams from Glasgow: Celtic and Rangers. In the Scottish Football League Division One (1890-1946), Division A (1946-55), Division One again (1955-75), Premier Division (1975-98), Premier League (1998-2013) and Premiership (since 2013), here is the title count: Rangers 54, Celtic 49, Edinburgh team Heart of Midlothian (a.k.a. Hearts) 4, Edinburgh team Hibernian (a.k.a. Hibs) 4, Aberdeen 4, and everybody else... 7. Or, to put it another way: The 2 Glasgow giants, known as "The Old Firm," 103, and everybody else 19.

The origin of the term "The Old Firm" is in dispute, but it may go back to a sportswriter comparing them to "two old, firm friends" leading up to the 1904 Scottish Cup Final. If this was ever true, it is has long since become a lie. No pair of teams in British Isles soccer hates each other more.

Rangers Football Club was founded in 1872, and didn't start out as a symbol for anything other than men who enjoyed football (soccer). But in 1912, shipbuilders Harland and Wolff, which hired only Protestants, never Catholics, saw sectarian trouble at their hometown shipyard at Belfast, Northern Ireland, and set up a new one in the Govan section of Glasgow, taking some of their Ulster Protestant men with them.

Seeing this, many Glasgow Protestants began working there. Since Rangers were the closest team, the Northern Irish transplants followed the lead of their new Glasgow workmates, and became Rangers fans. With World War I coming on, and the Eastern Rising and the Irish Civil War that followed, Rangers became a team representative of British Unionism and the Scottish establishment. To this day, their Ibrox Stadium, on the city's West Side, has fans waving Union Jacks much more often than the Scottish Saltire, the Cross of St. Andrew.

The Celtic Football Club -- sometimes abbreviated to "CFC," but, when said in full, "The" is always used, much like "The... Ohio State University" -- was founded in 1887, specifically to deliver money and other resources to the poor Irish Catholics on Glasgow's East Side, where Celtic Park, a.k.a. "Parkhead," would be built.

Their crowds began to match those of Rangers, and, seeing Rangers as the team of the Protestants that were oppressing them, their fans began to wave the green-white-orange tricolor that is the flag of the Republic of Ireland. Saltires are as rare at Parkhead as they are at Ibrox.

In response to this, Rangers fans ended up hating Celtic and their fans as much as vice versa. From the 1920s until 1989, Rangers never signed a player they knew to be Catholic, until finally breaking the barrier with formerly Celtic star Maurice "Mo" Johnston, who ended up being verbally abused by, and receiving death threats from, not just his old fans, but those who were supposed to be cheering him with his new team. He failed there after just 2 years, and bounced around, ending his career in America with the Kansas City Wizards (now known as Sporting Kansas City).

No soccer team in Ireland -- either in the Republic or in Northern Ireland -- is as popular in its homeland as Celtic or Rangers are there. Some English teams, particularly those who've had success with Irish players such as Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, are popular in Ireland, but neither as much as Celtic and Rangers.

The competitive rivalry between the teams is incredibly close: Rangers have won 160 competitive matches, Celtic have won 157, and there have been 99 draws. But it gets incredibly nasty. Rangers fans have been known to chant profane things about the Pope -- whoever the Pope is at the time -- and Celtic fans have returned the favor by saying the same things about Queen Elizabeth II, even though she's half-Scottish herself.

But when Jock Stein arrived in 1965, Celtic had won just 1 league title since 1938 (and he was there for that one, in 1954). Over that same span, Rangers had won 11. Things turned around: With McNeill scoring the winning goal, Celtic defeated Dunfermline 3-2 in the 1965 Scottish Cup Final. The Scottish Footballer of the Year award was first awarded, and it was awarded to McNeill.

Stein named McNeill his Captain. Together, they led "The Hoops" (named for their green and white horizontal stripes) well: From 1966 to 1974, they won 9 straight league titles (a feat Rangers would match in 1997), They also won 7 Scottish Cups and 6 Scottish League Cups.

And then came 1967. The European Cup, the tournament now known as the UEFA Champions League, was first run in the 1955-56 season. No British team had yet won it, or even reached the Final. On aggregate, Celtic beat FC Zurich of Switzerland 5-1 (including a stunning 3-0 away win), Nantes of France 6-2 (including 3-1 away), Vojvodina of Yugoslavia (now in Serbia) 2-1, and Dukla Prague of Czechoslovakia (now in the Czech Republic) 3-1.

The Final was set for Estadio Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal, with Celtic playing Internazionale Milano, who had won the Cup in 1964 and 1965, becoming known as "La Grande Inter." Celtic took the pitch with this starting XI, all of them from within 30 miles of Glasgow: Goalkeeper Ronnie Simpson, right back Jim Craig, left back Tommy Gemmell, central midfielder Bobby Murdoch, centreback and Captain Billy McNeill, centreback John Clark, right wing Jimmy "Jinky" Johnstone (often called the greatest player in Celtic history), centre forward Willie Wallace, centre forward Stevie Chalmers, central midfielder Berti Auld, and left wing Bobby Lennox.

Simpson saved a shot from Sandro Mazzola, a 2nd-generation Italian calcio star (that's what Italians call soccer, and his father Valentino Mazzola had starred for Turin team Torino in the 1940s), before Craig fouled Renato Cappellini, resulting in Inter being awarded a penalty in only the 7th minute.

The score remained 1-0 to Inter past the hour mark, because of Inter's renowned defensive style, known as catenaccio -- "padlock." Auld hit the crossbar, and Johnstone headed a shot over it. Giuliano Sarti saved a free kick from Gemmell, and he hit the bar with the rebound. Entering the 63rd minute, the Hoops were dominating, but the Nerazzurri (Black & Blue) were winning.

Finally, Celtic broke the padlock. Craig passed from the right wing to Gemmell, who fired from 25 yards, and Sarti couldn't stop it. 1-1. Celtic kept up the attack, until the 84th minute. Murdoch had a shot, and Chalmers saw that he could deflect it in. The final score was 2-1 to Celtic. They were the 1st British team to win the European Cup.

They had won the League, the Cup, the League Cup, and now the European Cup -- not just a Double, not just a Treble, but a Quadruple. Counting the Glasgow Cu, a minor trophy, they became the 1st European team to win 5 trophies in a season. They remain the only team in Europe ever to pull either of these feats off, and would become known as "The Lisbon Lions." In reference to Protestant songs about King William III, who suppressed a Catholic revolt in Ireland in 1690, Celtic fans honored their Captain by singing, "There's only one King Billy, and it's McNeill!"

King Billy McNeill got Celtic back into the European Cup Final in 1970, losing to Feyenoord of Rotterdam, who thus became the 1st Dutch team to win it. He retired after the 1975 season, having played 822 games for the team, which remains a record.

He appeared for the Scotland national team 29 times, scoring 3 goals, but never at the World Cup. Scotland did not qualify in 1962, 1966 or 1970. Scotland had perhaps its best World Cup team ever in 1974, with 4 Celtic players making the squad: Johnstone, midfielder David Hay, defender Danny McGrain and young forward Kenny Dalglish. But McNeill was 34, and past his prime.

It shouldn't have surprised anyone that he went into management. He took Aberdeen to 2nd place and the Scottish Cup Final in 1978, and that showed Celtic that he was ready to take charge. As boss at Parkhead, he won the League in 1979, 1981 and 1982, the Scottish Cup in 1980, and the Scottish League Cup in 1983.

He was lured away by English team Manchester City, and he got them promoted back to Division One in 1985. He managed 3 years at Maine Road, then the 1986-87 season at Aston Villa, but he couldn't save them from relegation. He returned to Celtic for 4 more years, including a League and Cup Double in 1988 and another Cup in 1989. He went into football media, briefly taking one last management job, as caretaker manager at Hibernian in 1998.

Since 1963, he had been married to Liz Callaghan, a former professional dancer. They had 5 children. In 2002, he was voted Celtic's greatest Captain. He was elected to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2015, a statue of him holding up the European Cup was dedicated outside Celtic Park.

But he had already begun to fall victim to dementia, and was unable to participate in 50th Anniversary celebrations for the Lisbon Lions. Billy McNeill died this past Monday, April 22, 2019, in the Glasgow suburb of Newton Means. He was 79 years old.

He was preceded in death among the Lisbon Lions of 1967 by manager Jock Stein in 1985 (famously suffering a heart attack while managing Scotland against Wales in a "Home Nations Championship" match in Cardiff), Bobby Murdoch in 2001, Ronnie Simpson in 2004, Jinky Johnstone in 2006 and Tommy Gemmell in 2017. There are 6 surviving players: Stevie Chalmers is 83, Bertie Auld is 81, John Clark and Willie Wallace are 78, Jim Craig is about to turn 76, and Bobby Lennox is 75.

UPDATE: Billy McNeill's final resting place is not publicly known.